FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT SUPREME COURT - PAGE 5

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday indicated that BJP leader Varun Gandhi may be freed and allowed to contest election if he agrees not to make provocative speeches during his campaigning. The BJP candidate from Pilibhit, who is in jail under the National Security Act (NSA) for his alleged hate speech, agreed to give an undertaking to the court that he would not deliver any inflammatory speech during the polls. "Let him (Varun) take part in the election if he gives an undertaking that he will not make any provocative speech," said a bench comprising chief justice KG Balakrishnan and Justice P Sathasivam.

NEW DELHI: Centre was today at the receiving end in the Supreme Court which said its stand on coal block allocation has been "contradictory", prompting a flustered Attorney General G E Vahanvati to state that it is "very difficult" and "tremendous strain" to respond to all queries. The Coal Ministry, which had earlier sought time to place the records relating to identification and allocation of coal blocks, faced fresh questions from the apex court on allotments, forcing Vahanvati to seek adjournment for two more weeks to produce entire record of allotments.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today said Goa government cannot be restrained from auctioning iron ore extracted by private companies which remained unremoved after the expiration of stipulated six months. The apex court, which relied on its judgement passed earlier this year, declined the plea of a company - Bandekar Brothers Private Limited - seeking to restrain authorities concerned for e-auctioning the mined mineral ore produced by it prior to November 22, 2007. A special bench headed by Justice J S Khehar said based on the directions issued by the apex court in the Goa Foundation case this year and also considering provisions of the Mineral Rules, "It is not possible for us to accept the prayers made by the the applicant.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has dismissed for want of proof a public interest litigation seeking a probe against Ranbaxy Labs for making and marketing substandard drugs. A bench of justices AK Patnaik and Ranjan Gogoi on Tuesday, however, noted that the petitioner, advocate ML Sharma, could file a fresh petition with evidence supporting his allegation that Ranbaxy was engaged in manufacturing and selling substandard drugs. "Your entire argument is based on proceedings in US. We have no jurisdiction over it. Show us material that things are happening in India and it adversely affects right to life of people here," the bench observed.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today dismissed the plea of senior Gujarat IPS officer P P Pandey, an absconder in the 2004 Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case, challenging CBI probe in the case. The apex court did not find fault with the Gujarat High Court order of December 1, 2011 handing over the probe to the CBI from Special Investigating Team (SIT) which had concluded that Ishrat and three others were killed in a fake encounter. A bench comprising justices Gyan Sudha Misra and Kurian Joseph said it did not find substance with the submissions of Pandey's counsel that High Court has not given reasons for handing over the probe to the CBI. Further, the bench said Pandey's plea challenging the High Court order was "too late" as he moved the apex court after more than two years.

SOPORE: Still grappling with the trauma of his sudden execution, the family of Afzal Guru is planning to move Supreme Court so that no other family is denied the right to meet their loved one before being hanged. "We cannot bring back Afzal who met such a cruel fate. The authorities were insensitive and did not allow him to meet his family one last time. But perhaps we can ensure that no other family undergoes the same trauma," says Aijaz Guru, elder brother of Parliament attack convict Afzal, who was hanged on February nine.

CHANDIGARH: The Supreme Court has said that the recent ordinance on land acquisition is prospective in nature, holding that delays owing to litigation are to be counted to the benefit of landowners and going against state governments owing to the absence of specific language to this effect. The court also said the benefit given to landowners is a "statutory right" and "cannot be taken away by an ordinance by inserting proviso to the above-said sub-section without giving it retrospective effect", it said with reference to the relevant clause.

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation has told the Supreme Court that former Karnataka chief minister and BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa cannot claim immunity from prosecution on the ground of lack of sanction as defrauding the exchequer was not part of a public servant's official duties. Under the Criminal Procedure Code, the governor's sanction is required to prosecute any public servant, including chief minister or other ministers. Yeddyurappa has sought quashing of the cases registered by the CBI against him on this ground.

NEW DELHI: PIL objects to India continuing to permit the practice while many others have banned it The Supreme Court yesterday asked the government to clarify its stand on commercial surrogacy , a thriving industry in the country, after a public interest litigation objected to the country continuing to permit the practice while many other countries have banned it. "...some countries like South Korea have banned it. We need to look into...

JAIPUR: With Rajasthan High Court refusing to immediately interfere with a state government ordinance fixing educational qualifications for candidates in Panchayat elections, the petitioners today said they will file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court seeking justice. "Today's high court order that it cannot intervene in the election process is misleading and literally deceitful as 95 per cent women in villages could not file nominations due to educational barrier," two women sarpanches Kamla Devi (Tilonia village)